will introduce you to the exciting new pivot table features in Excel 2007. Create quick summaries and pivot charts, add impact with traffic light icons, design calculated fields, group dates and numbers.
Celebrating Excel Day 40000
Excel hasn’t been around for 40,000 days, but Excel’s date system starts at January 1, 1900 (day 1), and today is day 40,000. Not for Mac users though – its default date system starts at January 1, 1904 (day 0), so you won’t hit this milestone for another four years.
The two dating systems are explained in the Microsoft Knowledgebase article: Description of the differences between the 1900 date system and the 1904 date system in Excel.
Switch to a Different Date System
Whether you’re using Excel on a Windows machine or on a Mac, you can switch from the default date system. Follow these steps to switch to the 1904 Date System in Excel 2007:
- Click the Office Button, then click Excel Options
- Click the Advanced category
- Scroll down to the section titled, When calculating this workbook
- Add a check mark to Use 1904 date system.
- Click OK
Keyboard Shortcuts for Dates
If you use these shortcuts, you’ll have more time available for celebrating the 40,000 day milestone.
- Enter today’s date: Ctrl + ;
- Format a date as dd-mmm-yy: Ctrl + #
______________________
July 6th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
holy crap, I thought I was the only one who was onto this....
July 6th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
We use excel dates on my company's server side technology and we all noticed, happy 40000!
July 6th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Hi Debra
>its default date system starts at January 1, 1904
As far as i know it start January 2, 1904
Greetings from the Netherlands
July 9th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Holy Moly, EXCEL nerds unite!! I JUST noticed it, a few days late, and thought to myself, goodness, the date number has started with a 3 the entire time I've been using Excel, I'm sure its been years since it changed from 2 to 3 and now to 4. HAPPY 40000!!
July 9th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Ron, thanks for the correction, and I changed the first line about the 1904 date system.
InternJessica, I'm pretty sure the Excel Day 40000 party lasts all week, so you're not too late!